amara rahman
"i think they'll be good, right? i mean, most of the good players are on the field. honestly, i can't even see the scoreboard. you see it? what's the score? ...amara!"
i snap out of my trance and look at ravyn who'd scoffed at me, then looked where i had been. "oh, gross."
"yeah." i murmur as we watch jack's arms link around meredith's waist, her skirt slightly rising.
"do you like jack?" she asks curiously.
i shake my head, "no, no. i don't know, he seems interesting to me."
"what's so interesting about him?" she snorts, "he's the most boring dude in the group."
"that would be derek."
"derek's cute." she counters with a small grin. "plus, he's got tattoos. that's interesting."
"he's got a girlfriend." i remind. "and he's about as interesting as a rock. their IQ's match, too."
"him and his girlfriend?"
"no, him and a rock."
she lets out a loud laugh, catching dirty looks from the people beside us. "i think you spend way too much time with him."
"you think?" i ask sarcastically.
"where's cj?" she asks, looking around.
i didn't even bother looking, given i could care less. instead, my eyes find jack again.
now, he's made it back to the field, and caught me by surprise when i saw his parents, along with a little girl. must be his sister.
all of them were pretty emotionless, except for his sister who had been running around with nate and johnson.
jack's dad patted him on the back, while his mom hugged him, tight.
a disturbing thought creeped up on my mind. what if his brother dies?
what if he's already dead?
fortunately, i don't think that's true. otherwise, i'm sure his parents wouldn't have made it to his game today. let alone, jack.
i haven't been really attempting to keep up, either. usually, i'd somehow subtly ask javi about his well-being, and he'd usually report back to me with enough information to keep me satisfied.
i thought about it the entire game. and finally asked javi when i got home.
"you know your friend, the one in the hospital?" i ask casually, getting comfortable in his bed.
he narrows his eyes at me for making myself at home in his bed, before taking a seat on the edge. "you mean my only friend in the hospital?"
"well, i don't know your friends." i shrug. "you do hang out with a risky crowd, who knows how many of your friends could be there."
he shakes his head, "you aren't making any sense, amara."
"whatever." i mutter, "how is he? any updates?"
"why do you care?"
"geez, javi. i don't know, maybe because i'm a human with feelings! am i not allowed to care?" i exclaim dramatically, and he rolls his eyes.
"isn't it past your bed time?"
i grunt, "come on."
"alright." he shrugs. "he's still in a coma. no updates."
"what about his family?"
"i haven't been there in a while. but last time i was, they all looked like so..—"
"emotionless?"
"you saw that too, huh?"
"yeah." i nod.
we sit in silence for a few seconds before he stands and sighs, "well, i'm gonna need you to leave my room or we're gonna have to do it the hard way."
i roll my eyes, sliding farther down. "oh, i'm so scared of you."
"why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?" he murmurs, before taking me by surprise and grabbing my ankles, pulling them down.
"javi!"
+
i rest my cheek on my palm, slouching in my position on the ground. "next." mrs.lily says.
the girl in front of me gets up and heads towards mrs.lily. she gets on the ground and begins her push-ups while mrs.lily watches her intensely.
"i knew mrs.lily was a bitch, but i didn't know she was that big of a bitch." nate says, taking a seat beside me.
i was about to question why he's sitting next to me, but i decided against it. besides, i probably looked lonely anyway.
"why? what'd she do to you?"
"she really stopped me because my knee barely touched the ground!"
i sigh, "there's worse things to worry about in life, nate."
"true." he nods, and we sit in silence while we watch jack do push-ups with pure ease. "show off."
"you're telling me." i mutter, "i could barely do 30."
"i did 15."
i try to hide my laugh, "really, nate?"
"i told you she stopped me!" he defends.
"go, baby!" meredith cheers from practically the other side of the gym. and cj turns to me, as if he was waiting for some sort of reaction.
"damn. i mean, she's alright and all, but she's cringy as fuck." nate expresses.
"i agree." i nod, "it's hard to hate her, especially since she's so nice."
"she's kind of a freak, though." i scowl at nate and he raises his hands in defense. "jack's words, not mine."
"what makes you think i wanna know that?!"
"alright, class. period's almost over, head back to the lockers."
i sigh in relief, standing up. nate stands up after me, though he walks over to his friends.
i frown and shrug it off, walking over to the lockers.
"shopping? again?" gloria groans, "what for?"
"homecoming shopping!" meredith exclaims.
"but jack hasn't even asked you yet—"
"that's besides the point." she cuts off. "besides, i'm sure he'll ask me. i mean, we aren't official yet but he wouldn't take another girl."
"he can, though." she responds. "he's allowed to."
i smirk. i almost forgot gloria was derek's girlfriend. but her stupidity reminded me quite vividly. i guess this isn't really stupidity, though. more just cluelessness.
i shake my head when i realize i'm listening in to a conversation i could care less about, and i head out.
"any idea what you're gonna wear?" bri asks me after i tell her basically the entire conversation.
"i don't even know if i wanna go." i tell her truthfully.
"oh come on, amara. you know homecoming is fun. remember last year? that after party?"
"that wasn't fun." i tell her, "now, pose."
i grab the camera our teacher lent to us and positioned it in front of my eye.
"it will this year." she points out. "if you, you know, let loose a little."
i narrow my eyes at her, "really, bri? just a while ago you were ranting about teens being so anxious to drink and do drugs and now here you are, pressuring me."
her eyes roll, "i'm not pressuring you to do anything. and how do you know that was what i was implying? i was thinking like..hookups or something."
i gasp when the door i'd been leaning on abruptly opens, forcing me forwards. i recover from my stumble, looking back.
of course, jack's head pokes out, followed by johnson's.
"sorry—"
"i'm sorry—"
we look at each other and i bite my lip, stepping back. "sorry." i repeat.
they both step out, "hey, bri." johnson smiles weakly at her and she returns with a polite wave.
"hi."
"since you both are here, mind helping me with my photo project?" he asks hopefully.
"actually—"
"yeah, of course." bri cuts me off, shooting me a look.
johnson smiles at us and jack just stares. bri happily follows them down the hall and i sigh before following them as well.
***
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